Tag: Brian Hoyer

Mac Jones ruled out, Packers to face Patriots backup QB Brian Hoyer

The Patriots ruled out QB Mac Jones (ankle), meaning Brian Hoyer will start against the Packers at Lambeau Field on Sunday.

The New England Patriots ruled out starting quarterback Mac Jones on Friday, paving the way for backup Brian Hoyer to start at Lambeau Field against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

Jones, a Pro Bowler as a rookie last season, injured his ankle during the Patriots loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 3. He didn’t practice on Wednesday or Thursday and was only briefly on the field for practice on Friday.

The Patriots also ruled out offensive line Yodny Cajuste and defensive lineman Lawrence Guy.

Hoyer, 36, has only started two games (both losses) over the last four seasons. He has played in 75 career games with 39 starts. His career completion percentage is 59.3; his career passer rating is 82.9.

Hoyer actually started a game for the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field in 2016. He completed 4 of 11 passes for 49 yards over 20 snaps before leaving with an injury.

The Packers were 3-0 against backup quarterback last season, with an average win margin of 14 points.

With legitimate question marks about Jones’ availability permeating the start of the week, the Packers were pegged as 9.5-point favorites.

The Patriots, a playoff team last year, are now in real danger of starting 1-3.

Packers coach Matt LaFleur is laying the Brian Hoyer praise on thick

Green Bay Packers coach Matt Lafleur has tremendous respect for Brian Hoyer

Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur is not overlooking New England Patriots quarterback Brian Hoyer heading into their matchup on Sunday.

Lafleur is familiar with Hoyer, as the coach’s brother, Mike LaFleur, coached Hoyer in San Francisco. He was also a coaching intern for the Cleveland Browns in 2014, when Hoyer was on the team. That year, the quarterback passed for 3,326 yards and 12 touchdowns. His 242 completions and 438 attempts that year remain career-highs for him.

Hoyer might have a chance to add to his career statistics, if he gets the opportunity to man New England’s quarterback ship following the injury to Mac Jones.

Matt Lafleur doesn’t plan on approaching the Patriots offense any differently, regardless of who is under center.

“Brian Hoyer is a guy I’ve got a lot of respect for,” said LaFleur, per NESN’s Mike Cole. “My brother was on that staff in Cleveland when he was a starter, and they had him again when he was in San Francisco as well. I remember watching a lot of the cut-ups from the ’14 season, and you could make the case and take all his great plays he made, and you would have thought he was one of the best quarterbacks in the league.

“He’s been doing it for a really long time, and he’s going to know their system inside and out. That always presents some challenges when you have a veteran versus a more inexperienced player. Although I don’t wanna take anything away from Mac. Mac has been unbelievable, obviously, having a Pro Bowl season last year and doing some great things this year, as well. Whoever’s out there, you just gotta adjust and adapt.”

New England could look to Hoyer to provide some stability at the quarterback position, as the organization tries to figure out what to do with Jones’ injury.

This would be Hoyer’s first start since Week 4 of the 2020 season against the Kansas City Chiefs. Now, he will look to put the Patriots back on the winning track.

At the very least, the Green Bay Packers will be ready for whatever the New England offense throws at them. It will be interesting to see how the Patriots plan for a powerhouse Packers team.

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3 veteran quarterbacks not named Brian Hoyer for Patriots

If the Brian Hoyer experiment implodes, here are three other veteran quarterbacks the Patriots could bring in.

The New England Patriots are preparing to embark on the Brian Hoyer era with starting quarterback Mac Jones likely out of commission for Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers.

That’s obviously putting it mildly considering he’s dealing with a “severe” high ankle sprain that could keep him out for much longer. He’s reportedly seeking a second opinion in hopes of avoiding surgery, which means the timetable could be extended even further if he’s counting on the injury to heal through natural means.

That means more Hoyer and more headaches for the Patriots.

The team likely isn’t pulling off a trade for Gardner Minshew or some other backup out there hoping for an opportunity to start under center. Sorry, Minshew fans.

But if the Hoyer experiment gets absolutely annihilated by the Green Bay Packers in Week 4, maybe coach Bill Belichick considers dipping into the free agent pool and seeing who he could hand another lifeline.

Here are three quarterbacks that could be the emergency backup option to the emergency backup option.

Addressing the elephant in the room: Should the Patriots call up Cam Newton?

Should the Patriots stay the course or give their old pal, Cam Newton, a call if Mac Jones misses significant time?

Losing Mac Jones at such a critical juncture of the season is the worst thing that could happen for the New England Patriots. The second-year quarterback has been diagnosed with a “severe” high ankle sprain that may or may not require surgery.

If Jones is out for a significant period of time, backup quarterback Brian Hoyer will likely take up the reins under center. Of course, that’s assuming the team has zero considerations of picking up the phone and making a call to their old pal, Cam Newton.

Should coach Bill Belichick use up a lifeline to bring back “Superman Cam” to save the Patriots?

It’s fun to think about from a fantasy perspective, but from a reality perspective, it makes no sense for the team. I hate to be the bearer of bad news—or good news, depending on where you stand on revitalizing the Newton saga—but it’s Hoyer and Bailey Zappe from here on out, until Jones is able to step back onto the field.

Isn’t this specifically why the Patriots have held on to a 36-year-old Hoyer for this long?

No, he isn’t a former league MVP like Newton, and he doesn’t bring that same element of rushing the ball to offset some of the glaring issues surrounding the team’s passing offense. But he’s an experienced veteran with 39 NFL starts. This isn’t some rookie on his first rodeo here. Hoyer has been there and done it before.

It was hard to envision Newton sitting out as a backup to Jones. Could you imagine him coming in and potentially sitting out behind Hoyer?

Not going to happen.

Newton has had a stellar NFL career, and for the most part, he’s been very underappreciated for the things he’s been able to accomplish on the field. The Patriots tried to make it work in 2020, but things simply didn’t pan out.

There might be a better situation that pops up, and Newton will obviously be ready since he works hard to stay in shape year-round. The ship in New England, however, has already sailed on that dream.

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Positional Preview: Breaking down quarterback position after the 53-man roster cutdown

Taking a look at the most set in stone group on the Patriots’ roster.

Every position is important on the football field, but if you whiff at quarterback, you could be setting your franchise up for years of failure.

The New England Patriots, particularly coach Bill Belichick, knows this all too well after benefitting for nearly two decades from having legendary quarterback Tom Brady under center.

Things have been pretty set from the very beginning for the Patriots at the quarterback position this year, as far as from a personnel perspective.

Let’s delve into it now that the initial 53-man roster is set. Today, we’re going to take a look at the most set in stone group thus far. Here’s how things look at quarterback for the Patriots.

Julian Edelman believes Brian Hoyer could play pivotal role for Patriots

Brian Hoyer could play an important role for the offense in 2022.

Former New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman believes that Brian Hoyer is an essential part of the quarterback room, as the team puts in a new offensive system for 2022.

Edelman appeared on Chris Long’s “Green Light” podcast Tuesday morning and gave the backup quarterback significant credit.

Hoyer played under Kyle Shanahan as a member of the San Francisco 49ers in 2017. This could be a benefit, as Hoyer will be able to relay concepts he learned under Shanahan, and match them up with this new system for New England.

Edelman elaborated on that line of thinking during the podcast.

“It’s definitely a blessing to have a guy like Brian Hoyer, who not only knows the New England Patriots system through and through—I mean, he’s been through the evolution of Josh McDaniels to Billy O’Brien, and he went and played with Billy [in Houston].” Edelman said. “So he’s been in that system, but he’s also been in the Shanahan systems and he knows that West Coast slang.”

Hoyer re-signed with the Patriots to a one-year deal in March. He could play another pivotal role in helping the quarterback room develop with Jones heading into his second season and rookie Bailey Zappe making a strong impression during the preseason.

Jones could use as much help as possible with New England looking to shake the rust off the offense heading into Miami.

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Patriots coach Bill Belichick gives reason for resting starters vs Giants

Coach Bill Belichick shed light on why he didn’t play his starters against the Giants on Thursday.

The New England Patriots rested their starters for the team’s preseason opener against the New York Giants on Thursday. Coach Bill Belichick gave a reason for that decision on Monday, as the team shifts its focus to the second week of the preseason.

Players such as quarterback Bailey Zappe and wide receiver Tyquan Thornton made the most of their opportunity and had a legitimate impact on the game. Zappe went 19-of-32 on the evening, throwing for 205 yards and a touchdown.

Thornton had a strong outing as well, scoring a touchdown in the first quarter. The wide receiver finished with two catches on both of his targets for nine yards and the touchdown. This game was a showcase for rookies and reserves, as the Patriots continue to assess the depth they have at each position.

Coach Bill Belichick talked to the media prior to practice and gave his reasoning for resting his starters, per NESN’s Dakota Randall.

“Well, the players that played a lot in the game did less in some of the practices leading up to the game, and the players that played less in the game or didn’t play at all in the game, did a lot more,” said Belichick. “So, I think when you look cumulatively, over, call it Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, which actually we have — the volumes are pretty close. So, some guys played a lot in the game, but really didn’t get a whole lot of practice reps.

“Now, they did in the stadium practice, where everybody got a lot of reps in, so those were split up pretty evenly. But from that point on, I would say the overall number is sort of the same, but some of the numbers were a lot higher in the game, some of the other numbers were a lot higher in practice. Both in terms of number of plays and actual volume of what the player did, I think it balanced out. Not perfectly, but it balanced out.”

It will be interesting to see what lineup the Patriots put out in their second preseason game against the Carolina Panthers. The second game could prove to be a big one for the starters, with only one preseason match left following Friday’s game.

New England was able to see what they had for depth last Thursday, and it gives them something to build on as they finish out the preseason slate.

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Winners and losers in Patriots preseason loss to Giants

Winners and losers from Patriots preseason opener against the Giants

The New England Patriots nearly snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in Thursday’s preseason opener against the New York Giants. But then the jaws clamped down late in the fourth quarter, and the Patriots lost their way.

The Giants engineered a 69-yard game-winning drive that was capped off by a walk-off field goal by kicker Graham Gano, who helped hand the Patriots a 23-21 loss at Gillette Stadium.

There was still uncertainty on the offensive side of the ball with the Patriots trying to decide between Matt Patricia and Joe Judge to handle the play-calling. It wasn’t an absolute disaster on the field, and the Patriots did have multiple players step up to make plays for a unit that has been heavily scrutinized this week.

Here are the winners and losers for Thursday night’s preseason opener.

What, Bill worry? Signs of life from the New England offense

The New England Patriots put together a scoring drive in the first quarter against the Giants, after some reports of struggles from their offense in practice.

For the past week or so, the stories coming out of New England Patriots camp have felt more like a horror film to the ears of their fans. Concerns over the new emphasis on offense and reports of struggles on that side of the football have many wondering if the 2022 version of New England’s offense is going to be, well, offensive.

However, perhaps there are some signs of life from the Patriots offense, thanks to a touchdown drive in the first quarter against the New York Giants on Thursday night.

The two big plays came via the passing game. The first was this deep connection between Brian Hoyer and wide receiver Kristian Wilkerson on a go route along the right sideline:

Wilkerson’s route is the “go” in a “go/flat” design, termed Ohio in some offensive systems. Hoyer reads man coverage and, perhaps liking the matchup with the speedy Wilkerson, drops in a perfect throw to get New England deep into Giants’ territory.

They capped off the drive with this touchdown from Hoyer to rookie Tyquan Thornton:

Thornton is actually on the backside of this concept. The Patriots run their Tosser concept to the left side, which is a pair of slant routes, and that is where Hoyer’s eyes focus after the snap. But the combination of pressure from the left side as well as an underneath defender jumping the inside slant route forces Hoyer to pull the football down and flush to his right.

On that side,  Thorton is running a corner route while the tight end releases to the flat, setting up a Smash concept. The cornerback is initially in good position against Thorton, but he breaks late towards the boundary, and Hoyer hits the rookie for six.

Patriots fans are hoping that Thorton’s speed and route-running will help New England produce in the passing game, particularly when attacking downfield.

For one drive, at least, the Patriots offense seemed to click. Of course, it is one drive, in the first preseason game, with and against players who might not be starters come Week 1. But after the past few days of reports from Foxborough, Patriots fans will gladly take the touchdown.

David Carr says he’d be ‘freaking out’ in Patriots offense

Carr says he’d be “freaking out” if he played in the Patriots offense.

Former NFL quarterback David Carr hasn’t taken an NFL snap in nearly a decade, but even with all of that time passed, he still feels like he’d be “freaking out” if he was in the New England Patriots’ quarterback room right now.

There have been talks of concern surrounding second-year quarterback Mac Jones potentially having the weight of the world on his shoulders in the Patriots offense.

His former offensive coordinator, Josh McDaniels, has moved on to coach the Las Vegas Raiders, and that vacant position has yet to be officially filled. As of now, former defensive coordinator Matt Patricia is expected to handle the offensive play-calling for the team.

“[Jones] is going to have so much on his plate because—I’ll be honest with you—Joe Judge hasn’t done it, and Matt Patricia hasn’t done it,” Carr said, during an episode of NFL Network’s Total Access. “And Bill Belichick, as great as he is, one of the greatest of all time, if not the greatest coach of all time, defense and head coach—he’s not an offensive guy.

“So for me, I’m just really concerned. I’m a quarterback. That’s what I do, right? I’m supposed to be concerned for the rookie. If I’m Brian Hoyer, I’m freaking out. Someone has to help us. If they can’t figure it out, then that quarterback room has to take ownership.”

Hoyer is the veteran quarterback in the room with Jones and rookie fourth-round draft pick Bailey Zappe. So Carr does make a good point in the fact that Jones will have to take on a lot in this offense.

It’s far too early for the doom and gloom talk, but there’s no question the first-round draft pick out of the University of Alabama faces an uphill battle. But that hasn’t stopped him before.

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